Board game apparatus

ABSTRACT

A gameboard having a pyramid depicted thereon and a plurality of zigzag paths of movement from the bottom of the pyramid to the top thereof for movement of game pieces. Control cards having indicia thereon controlling the movement of the game pieces are provided so that a plurality of players may endeavor to move their game pieces from a start position to a finish position at the top of the pyramid by drawing cards which instruct them to move the game piece in a particular manner, with certain of the cards depicting an increment of movement along the zigzag paths of movement. Sand dunes are depicted alongside the pyramid to which the game pieces are directed in certain instances by the cards.

United States Patent Bryant 5] Feb. 22, 1972 [54] BOARD GAME APPARATUS [21] Appl. No.: 21,065

[52] US. CL ..273/l34 AD, 273/134 C Primary Examiner-Delbert B. Lowe Attorney-Clarence A. OBrien and Harvey B. Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT A gameboard having a pyramid depicted thereon and a plurality of zigzag paths of movement from the bottom of the pyramid to the top thereof for movement of game pieces. Control cards having indicia thereon controlling the movement of the game pieces are provided so that a plurality of players may endeavor to move their game pieces from a start position to a finish position at the top of the pyramid by drawing cards which instruct them to move the game piece in a particular manner, with certain of the cards depicting an increment of movement along the zigzag paths of movement. Sand dunes are depicted alongside the pyramid to which the game pieces are directed in certain instances by the cards.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures u o.-1 AND UNI Ll as n Y K no. use our": 0405 SANDWN N BOARD GAME APPARATUS The present invention generally relates to a game device and more particularly a gameboard, game pieces movable thereon and control cards for controlling movement of the game pieces.

Various types of game devices have been provided in which a gameboard has a path of movement delineated thereon, and including game pieces movable along the path of movement and a control assembly for controlling the movement of the game pieces.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a gameboard having a pyramid illustrated thereon with a plurality of paths of movement extending from starting points at the base of the pyramid to a finish point at the top or apex of the pyramid, together with game pieces which are of triangular shape for movement along the paths of movement with such movement being controlled by a plurality of control cards each having depicted thereon a segment of one of the paths of movement of the game pieces.

Another object of the invention is to provide a game device in accordance with the preceding object in which sand dunes are depicted outwardly of the pyramid, with a path of movement associated with each sand dune, and with the game pieces being moved onto the sand dunes under some circum stances during the playing ofa game.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a game device which is simple in construction, easy to utilize, entertaining for both adults and children and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the gameboard of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of cards having increments of a path of movement delineated thereon.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a group of blank cards.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of sand dune cards illustrating an increment ofa path of movement thereon.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a card having a pyramid illustrated thereon.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the triangular shaped game pieces to simulate small pyramids.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the gameboard 10 is in the form ofa generally square panel having planar top and bottom surfaces similar to gameboards that are presently known insofar as the material from which it is constructed is concerned. if desired, the gameboard may be constructed so that it can fold along a centerline to enable it to be stored in a more compact manner.

On the face of the gameboard 10, a pyramid 12 is illustrated thereon by appropriate indicia with the pyramid being shown in a perspective manner so that two sides of the pyramid are illustrated. The pyramid includes a baseline 14 and apex stone or top 16.

Disposed on the pyramid sides is a plurality of zigzag paths of movement 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26. Dependent from each line designating the path of movement is an arrow line 28 extending to a start position 30 on which game pieces 32 are positioned for start of a game. As indicated, a separate game piece will be provided for each player and the game pieces will be positioned at the start positions. Also, each path of movement is distinguished by a distinguishable color and the game pieces 32 are correspondingly distinguishably colored, with the game pieces 32 also being of triangular configuration. Thus, when playing a game, the individual players, up to five in number, will select their particular path of movement and the particular game piece depending upon the desired color.

Extending laterally of the pyramid I2 is a plurality of sand dunes 33 illustrated on the gameboard with each sand dune having a horizontal path of movement 34 delineated thereon with graduations 36 on the path of movement to delineate increments or segments thereof. There are five sand dunes illustrated and some of the sand dunes have a longer path of movement than others and each sand dune is provided with indicia 38 indicating the outer end of each path of movement 34.

Provided with the gameboard are playing pieces of five different colors corresponding with the colors of the paths of movement and a plurality of each color game piece should be provided in the event some of the game pieces are lost. Also, 98 cards are provided with one group of cards being designated by numeral 40 and each card including a segment of the paths of movement along the pyramid thereon as indicated by numeral 42. In addition, there will be 10 blank cards 44, five sand dune cards 46 and one card 48 having a red pyramid 50 delineated thereon. Each of the sand dune cards 46 has a path of movement thereon as at 52. The cards 40 are 80 in number and there are eight groups of 10 cards each having the same segment of movement 42 thereon with eight of the cards in each group indicating a move ahead and two of the cards in each group indicating a move backward by any suitable indicia (not shown) printed thereon. in addition to the 80 cards 40 and 10 blank cards 44 and five sand dune cards 46 and the red pyramid card 48, two other cards (not shown) are provided with indicia you are out of game" or go back to start" thereon. Each of the corners on the paths of movement, each graduation line 36 and the corresponding indicia 42 on the cards 40 and indicia 52 on the cards 46 may have numerical indicia (not shown) designating the points for a particular area. For example, each corner on the paths of movement would indicate 10 points and may have a red dot associated therewith and corresponding point designations may be provided on the various cards with the red pyramid card 48 indicating a movement of 100 points ahead for the game piece of the player drawing this card.

There are 260 points from the start to the top stone on each color line. When a player draws one of the five sand dune cards 46, he must go directly to whichever sand dune is indicated by the path of movement on the card. He must then await his next turn to draw a card from the deck andhe may again go directly across the board to his own color line using the number of points on the card as he chooses. When going from the sand dune and you must cross someone elses color line to get to your color line, on the next play you give your drawn card to the owner of the color line you have just crossed. In effect, you lose that turn of play and must wait until your next play in order to proceed. Basically, a point on the pyramid or a corner designating the point is any intersection of vertical and horizontal lines. If at the start of the game, a player draws a card directing that he must move back so many points, the player must pay out these points by paying them back on his following plays until he pays back the number of points he owes. The first player to reach the top is considered the winner of the game.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not intended to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A game device comprising a gameboard, a pyramid depicted on the gameboard, a plurality of paths of movement delineated on the pyramid and including a start position at the base of the pyramid and a finish position at the top of the pyramid, each path of movement being in the form of a zigzag path defined by a plurality of joined horizontal and vertical lines, distinguishably colored game pieces movable along the paths of movement, and cards illustrating different segments of the plurality of paths of movement on the pyramid indicating the degree of movement of the game pieces along the paths of movement from the start position to the finish position during play ofa game.

ment, and cards each including a path of movement on the sand dunes indicating movement of the game pieces to the paths of movement on the sand dunes during the play of the game.

* III 

1. A game device comprising a gameboard, a pyramid depicted on the gameboard, a plurality of paths of movement delineated on the pyramid and including a start position at the base of the pyramid and a finish position at the top of the pyramid, each path of movement being in the form of a zigzag path defined by a plurality of joined horizontal and vertical lines, distinguishably colored game pieces movable along the paths of movement, and cards illustrating different segments of the plurality of paths of movement on the pyramid indicating the degree of movement of the game pieces along the paths of movement from the start position to the finish position during play of a game.
 2. The structure as defined in claim 1 together with a plurality of sand dunes depicted on the gameboard, a plurality of horizontally disposed paths of movement extending outwardly from the pyramid in the sand dunes and including spaced graduation marks thereon indicating increments of movement, and cards each including a path of movement on the sand dunes indicating movement of the game pieces to the paths of movement on the sand dunes during the play of the game. 